Downtown is fairly quiet at night. There are a bunch of bars aimed at 20-somethings nearby, but I'm not sure that is what you are looking for. There are a number of restaurants within walking distance, though. Your hotel, surprisingly for a Hampton Inn, has a very good restaurant,
Yono's. Yono's is expensive, but the hotel also houses the less expensive dp Brasserie, run by Yono's son, Dominic, a sommelier. Yono and family do a lot to support non-profits in the Albany area.
There are a number of other well-respected restaurants within walking distance, many of which I haven't been to.
Angelo's 677 Prime is the most popular. It is an expensive steak house. I have heard a range of things about this place from "chewy steaks and highly over-rated," to "best steak I ever had," so I haven't yet dared to splurge on it.
The Brown Derby is practically across the street from your hotel. It has some decent specials on various days of the week. Also only a block or two away is
The Victory Cafe, which is casual but very good for the type of food it serves. I have not eaten at
taste under the current owner, but it had excellent food at decent prices under the previous owner, and I've heard that it hasn't changed a lot.
The Merry Monk is a new place that sounds interesting. One of the Capital District's all time favorite restaurants,
Cafe Capriccio, is also nearby. It is tiny, so reservations are a good idea. Be aware that it's on a somewhat rundown block.
There aren't many fun stores nearby, but there are a few things to do besides eat. There's not much happening at the
Palace Theater this time of year, but check it out to see if anything is going on while you are there. I am embarrassed to say that last year was the first time I went to a performance at the
Capital Rep. I had no idea that they do excellent productions using professional actors. I will likely be purchasing a subscription soon! The theater is small and all seats are good. Two bigger venues nearby are the
Times Union Center and
The Egg.
A good place to get information about the neighborhood is the
Downtown Albany BID (Business Improvement District). Their web site isn't always as up-to-date as it could be, but if you can get to their offices when they are open, they have all sorts of information about stuff going on. I have also heard that the Hampton Inn has a few staff members that know what is going on.
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